Jewlyweds ARCHIVES

Who says you can’t go home?

If anyone had told me 16 years ago that I would be sitting in my high school auditorium with my husband, my bubbe, my father and my fatherâs girlfriend—I would have said they were crazy.
But isnât it funny how life can change?

The first time I sat in that auditorium I was a lowly freshman; my sister, who last week was singing and dancing on stage, was just two months old; my father was still married to my stepmother; and my husband was a senior in high school nearly 2,000 miles away.

Last weekend, I went home to Chicago. My husband, who had spent the week in the Midwest on business trip flew to meet me and we spent the night at my bubbeâs house in the burbs. I was in charge of driving, since I was the most comfortable with getting behind the wheel in snow.

After dropping my husband and bubbe off in the front, I parked the car in the large lot â odd for me, because when I was a student, I would usually park in back (closer to the school).

As I, in my winter boots, made my way to the entrance, I couldnât help but notice my shadow â¦ taller than the last time I had entered the building.

I walked into the lobby area in front of the auditorium and spotted two of my teachers â a rarity considering most of my sisterâs teachers are younger than I.

âHi Mr. H!â I said, to the man who taught me theater for two of the four years I was at the school.

He turned and his mouth dropped open and he exclaimed âShoshana!â

The teacher he was with, who was the drama club supervisor, had a huge smile on her face.
I gave Mr. H a hug and turned to the handsome man next to me: âMr. H, I donât think youâve met my husband. Mr. H taught me all I know about improv.â

As my husband shook Mr. Hâs hand he said, âso YOU are the one who taught Shoshana all of her tricks?â

Mr. H said, âGuilty.â

I acknowledged the other teacher standing next to him and said: âThey both did. I had my first directing job in Mrs. Fâs drama program.â

Mr. H asked what I was doing there and I told him my sister was in the musical.

He shook his head and said: âI feel oldâ and then introduced me to his daughter, who was born when I was a sophomore.

The lights flickered and it was time to go in.

As we walked away, my husband asked if this whole thing was strange for me.

As I sat there with my family, I looked at the stage I had the pleasure of stepping onto many times in my four years at that high school.

I looked at him, squeezed his hand and smiled: âNo,â I told him. âItâs like being home â only I think the room shrunk.â

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